‘Hunter Killer’: Dive deep on an attack sub
SOMEWHERE OFF THE COAST OF SAN DIEGO – “Prepare to dive,” the officer of the deck barks into the USS Annapolis’ PA system. It’s game-face time. On a sunny San Diego morning, the training exercise has embarked on calm seas off Naval Base Point Loma, where the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine is stationed. But it’s all serious for the officers and crew onboard, who are intently watching digital navigational screens throughout the control room.
Submerging on a submarine, particularly one capable of carrying torpedoes and 12 Tomahawk land-attack missiles, is a vulnerable time that requires unwavering vigilance.
Two periscope operators scan the 360-degree water surface, spinning in a perfectly synchronized dance mere feet apart, somehow avoiding collision, as the officer in charge of the ship’s movement gives commands to the sonar operators in a separate room.
“Dive! Dive!” the chief of the watch orders, sounding two blasts of the diving alarm before opening the ship’s main ballast tank vents to let seawater in. The 6,900-ton war machine slips beneath the choppy surface and glides underwater effortlessly.
Even behind his facial stubble, “Hunter Killer” director Donovan Marsh cannot hide an amazed smile as a rare civilian (along with a USA TODAY reporter) witnessing a highly classified nuclear submarine in full operation. Unlike his first visit on a fast-attack sub before filming began, Marsh is now able to breathe easier